The area under which minor millets is grown is shrinking year after year in Kurnool district as has been the trend elsewhere in State.

Foxtail millet (Sataria italica), which used to be cultivated in an area of two lakh hectare in the district two decades ago has now shrunk to 20,000 hectare.

The millet, known as Korra in local parlance, remains to be the staple diet of rural people. However, after the introduction of the subsidised rice scheme in the early eighties, people switched over to rice and the demand started declining for millet.

Foxtail millet is recognised as diabetic food. The millet is rich in dietary fibre (6.7 per cent), protein (11 per cent) and low in fat (four per cent).

Foxtail Millet help control blood sugar and Cholesterol.

Unlike rice, foxtail millet releases glucose steadily without affecting the metabolism of the body. The incidence of diabetes is rare among the population which consumes foxtail millet diet.